


sway

by CosmicTurnabout



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Tumblr: FFXIVwrite, Tumblr: FFXIVwrite2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26260636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicTurnabout/pseuds/CosmicTurnabout
Summary: Seto wakes of a night, and remembers.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14
Collections: Emet-Selch's Wholesomely Debauched Bookclub FFXIV-Writes 2020 Collection





	sway

**Author's Note:**

> For the FFXIV writing challenge prompt #2: “sway.”

A cold burst of wind ruffled Seto’s feathers, stirring him from deep sleep. He woke with a snort, shaking slightly from the chill. That wind had interrupted a dream, but he could not say whether the dream had been good or bad. Whatever the case, he was awake now, and out of it. In the real world. 

The amaro nearby were still asleep, their soft snores a calming buzz in the dead of night. Night. Seto blinked. So strange to think he could look upon a star-studded sky once again. Calm settled on his heart. Nothing moved but the grass bending with the wind, and he thought that very fine. It was always a comfort to watch the grass sway so.

Wolekdorf was quiet by its very nature. The creeping greenery of Il Mheg had long ago overtaken the old stone ruins that marked the place. Those ruins were unfit shelter for men, but they made perfectly adequate nests for amaro. In truth, there was very little to excite the amaro who lived there, and Seto would not have wanted it any other way. Amaro who had lost their masters to death or abandonment or any other sorry reason flocked to Wolekdorf, and Seto welcomed each one of them with open wings. They had all seen enough action in their long lives, and awakened as they were, they now sought refuge from the rest of the world. More than anything, they sought peace.

Seto often wondered if sentience was truly the gift that Ronkan mage of eld had imagined it to be. Sentience brought with it self-awareness, the ability to retain knowledge and communicate it to others. Before that, the amaro had been as simple mounts to men; afterward, they had become like unto companions, comrades on and off the field of battle. Was that really for the better?

Seto watched the grass sway, wondering, sifting through his thoughts. To be awake as the Tupaq amaro were was to know both the highest peaks of happiness and the lowest valleys of sadness, all the dips and turns and vagaries of life. What would it be like to never know sadness? Or happiness, for that matter? He could not remember life with great clarity before he had come into himself—that was how he thought of it, anyway; it was almost as if he had not existed before he had been able to speak. And yet, that swallowed-up past—that animal past—encompassed the entire swath of years Ardbert had been alive.

If he had not awakened, he would not have been able to articulate his thoughts, his feelings. His dreams. Yes, that was it!—he had been dreaming of Ardbert when the wind roused him. Of course he had. Instinctively, as soon as he remembered, he checked under a wing to make sure the crystal was still there, and he sighed with relief to find it in the same spot as always, cool against his feathers. Oh, Ardbert. The poor boy. The Warrior of Darkness had done Seto a great kindness in giving him Ardbert’s crystal, but he did so wish he could have spoken with his master just once before he passed on. But so was life, with all its aches and pains and wounds. 

Seto sat and waited for sleep to take him again, watching the undulating grass and enjoying the feel of wind stirring his feathers. He thought of many things. Mostly, he thought of Ardbert. The man had always enjoyed running through open fields, hands outstretched to let long grass slip through his fingers. Seto missed the sway of Ardbert on his back, moving to and fro in the saddle. With a rush of sweet sadness, he recalled his dream in full: a memory of the first time Ardbert had flown with him. He had nearly tumbled off once Seto had climbed as high as he dared go, but he had never shown fear. He had merely laughed, righting himself on Seto’s back and gripping the reins with strong, firm hands. Seto closed his eyes, and he could almost feel Ardbert’s hands ruffling his coat, just as he had so many years ago. 

_If I had never awakened, I would not have been able to remember Ardbert like this—in all his humanity, in all his light_. Remembering brought pain, but even in pain, there was a keen, cutting beauty, as bright as the sun shining through rainclouds. If he could have smiled, he would have done so. _I suppose I am grateful to that mage after all_.

Seto nuzzled Ardbert’s pale crystal and curled up in his nest, the soft sway of the grass lulling him back to sleep.


End file.
